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Recovering from modeling disaster - Question?


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Hey All,

 

I posted, in the Tools 'n' Tips section, about my first experience with AK Xtreme Metal paint and Tamiya masking tape.  I got a good answer on how to deal with my 'disaster', which was the adhesive of the masking tape making a goopy, sticky mess upon removal from the metal color paint.  I think i have a good path forward for the future.  But my question, here, is about what you folks have done with models that you felt were ruined, for whatever reason, and what you did with those models.  My Eduard P-51D was my first attempt of a natural metal finish airplane, and at first, I was going to trash the model.  However, I did the best I could in trying to clean up the mess, and repainted another coat of Xtreme Metal Aluminum.  It turns out that I hadn't done as good of a cleanup as I could have, or thought I did, and there are still some rough patches under my new paint layer.  I don't see continuing to try to clean up these patches as being worth the time spent, but I think, despite the way less than ideal finish, it might be worth finishing the model, putting the deals on, weathering it, etc.  Im curious what criteria you folks use, or have used, to decide if a model is worth salvaging, or whether a model should end up in the trash heap.  I'd be curious to hear your thoughts about 'how bad' mistakes need to be before you consider a model not worth finishing.

Edited by Curt B
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Damn, that's a hard thing when you've completed so much work into a project!

I cannot offer anything useful, but If you're happy with the build itself, and it sounds like you are...

There are quite a few talented modellers here that will suggest stripping it so that you can start the artwork again.

Some of them strip paint from kits that are 20yrs old and start again. Their ideas might prove to be a solution!

Put the P-51D aside for the moment, and wait for smarter folk to chime in!

Best of luck

Andy

 

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Thanks for the encouraging words.  I'm thinking that I'll try to incorporate the remaining 'ridges' or 'roughness' which is now trapped under a new layer of metal paint as part of the weathering for this plane.  Not sure how it's going to turn out, but we will see.  I have at least 6 Eduard P-51Ds in my stash, so plenty of opportunities to avoid my mistakes on future Mustangs.  I'm glad I encountered this now, though, because I've been planning some bigger builds, Tamiya 1/48 P-38Js in natural metal, and I would have REALLY been upset if I'd have done this to one of those airplanes!!!  

 

I may take your advice to set it aside before I do any more untoward things to this plane.  I had another plane, an Fw-190, where my paintwork had gone terribly wrong, and as I recall, I stopped and restarted that plane 3 or 4 times, contemplating putting that one onto the trash heap also, but my wife's encouragement got me to ultimately finish it.  It didn't have the same level of 'damage' as this one, but enough that I wanted to give up multiple times, and it ended up decent in the end...not my best work, bur good enough that I am glad I finished it.  

Edited by Curt B
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I had this exact same thing happen to me with the same paints. I ended up stripping off the paint from the affected areas, then sanding with 4000 grit sanding sponge to feather back the edges. Reapplied gloss black base in several coats to build it back up past the ridges. Polishing out the black base coat to get it super smooth, then reapplying the NMF. This time, I applied Tamiya x-22 in light coats to seal in the NMF paint. I didn't have a problem with tape residue after that. Of course, I would test it out first on a test mule or something like that.

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Had the exact same thing happen to me with AK Extreme Metal and Tamiya masking tape. I ended up getting almost all of it off with q-tips soaked in Formula 409. Lots of rubbing, but it was the only thing I found to do the trick without destroying the paint. 
 

-Ryan

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the added thoughts, guys.  I have found the Xtreme Metal paints too good to give up, so finding a good masking process is/was key!  I've begun by 'de-tacking' the Tamiya masking tape, and that seems to have worked.  I'm sure I'll always have the worry about this whenever I mask over a metal color, but at least now I'm confident that it's less likely to cause big problems!

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1 hour ago, Curt B said:

Thanks for the added thoughts, guys.  I have found the Xtreme Metal paints too good to give up, so finding a good masking process is/was key!  I've begun by 'de-tacking' the Tamiya masking tape, and that seems to have worked.  I'm sure I'll always have the worry about this whenever I mask over a metal color, but at least now I'm confident that it's less likely to cause big problems!

Have you tried a liquid mask?

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